When tested, DNA evidence contained inside rape kits can be an incredibly powerful tool to solve and prevent crime. It can identify an unknown assailant and confirm the presence of a known suspect. It can affirm the survivor's account of the attack and discredit the suspect. It can connect the suspect to other crime scenes. It can exonerate innocent suspects.

To accomplish these things, however, rape kits must be tested.

The federal government estimates that hundreds of thousands of rape kits sit untested in police and crime lab storage facilities across the country in what is known as the rape kit backlog.

When a victim reports a sexual assault, she may be asked to have a rape kit examination performed. A doctor or nurse will photograph, swab and conduct an examination of the victim's entire body for DNA evidence left behind by the attacker − a process that may take four to six hours to complete.

The evidence that is collected is preserved in a sexual assault evidence kit, commonly referred to as a "rape kit".

Many law enforcement precincts and crime labs have a large number of untested kits at their facilities.

It is estimated that there are hundreds of thousands of untested rape kits across the United States.

Each untested kit represents a lost opportunity for healing and justice for a survivor.

The rape kit backlog is a result of stretched resources, and the low priority rape kit testing is given by law enforcement. In the many jurisdictions where there is no law or policy that mandates the testing of all collected rape kits, whether or not a kit is tested is based on the discretion of police or prosecutors. There are various reasons why law enforcement may decide not to request a kit for testing, including a lack of resources necessary for testing requests.Untested rape kits also represent the fact that many rape cases are closed before making it very far in the criminal justice system.

Reason #1

Members of law enforcement do not believe a crime occurred.

Reason #2

Members of law enforcement believe a crime occurred, but decide not to investigate further.

Reason #3

Members of law enforcement believe that testing isn't necessary because the victim knew the perpetrator (commonly referred to as "acquaintance rape").

Reason #3

Members of law enforcement believe that testing isn't necessary because the victim knew the perpetrator (commonly referred to as "acquaintance rape").

Reason #4

Members of law enforcement lack the resources or personnel needed to test the kit.

Reason #5

The crime lab lacks resources or personnel needed to test the kit.

Even when law enforcement does send rape kits to the crime lab for testing, those kits can sit for months and, in some cases, years, before being tested. This delay is often because crime labs lack the resources and personnel to test rape kits in a timely manner. This delay in testing also represents a rape kit backlog.

Millions of people have been affected by sexual assault.
Sexual assault has the lowest arrest rate of all violent crimes.Testing rape kits can help change that.

National studies have shown that cases in which a rape kit was collected, tested and contained DNA evidence are more likely to result in arrests and prosecutions.

When New York City eliminated its rape kit backlog, its arrest rate for rape jumped from 40% to 70%.

Detroit has linked crimes to 188 serial rapists from testing just the first 18% of its backlogged kits.

Not testing rape kits sends the message to survivors that their cases don't matter. It also sends the message to perpetrators that they can escape punishment for rape. Testing kits demonstrates a commitment to survivors to do everything possible to help them find justice and healing.

How big is the backlog where you live?

Though experts estimate that there are hundreds of thousands of untested kits in police and crime lab storage facilities throughout the country, there is no comprehensive, national data on the nature and scope of the rape kit backlog. Few state governments and no federal agencies track this data. Across cities and counties, there are vast differences in the way law enforcement officials track and report rape kit data, if at all, making it exceedingly difficult to compare data and to have a national picture of the backlog. But here's what we do know.

what can I do to get involved?

As part of its ongoing effort to identify the number of untested rape kits across the United States, the Joyful Heart Foundation today released information obtained from Charlotte, NC; Jacksonville, FL; Kansas City, MO; Portland, OR and San Diego, CA

The Joyful Heart Foundation expressed its gratitude to the members of the U.S. House of Representatives who included $45 million to address the nation’s rape kit backlog in the FY16 spending bill, which passed today.

ENDTHEBACKLOG Updates

Our Mission

ENDTHEBACKLOG is a program of the Joyful Heart Foundation to shine a light on the backlog of untested rape kits throughout the United States. Our goal is to end this injustice by conducting groundbreaking research identifying the extent of the nation’s backlog and best practices for eliminating it, expanding the national dialogue on rape kit testing through increased public awareness, engaging communities and government agencies and officials and advocating for comprehensive rape kit reform legislation and policies at the local, state and federal levels. We urge you to learn more about the backlog, where it exists and why it matters. We invite you to take action and support efforts to test rape kits. Help us send the message that we must take rape seriously.

Featured Information

When tested, DNA is one of the most powerful tools we have to solve and prevent crime. Read more about it here.

As states and local jurisdictions have begun to process previously untested rape kits and take steps toward eliminating their backlogs, the question has remained of how to re-engage survivors whose cases are often years—sometimes decades—old. Read more about victim notification.

Every state has a codified set of legal rights for crime victims, often called a "victims’ bill of rights." Learn about these rights here.